Ever, Ever After
by Chatterpie
Summary: If they had been given a moment before the final battle...Zack/Cloud. Technically -not- 7, it's actually Crisis Core. But until they get a CC section up here, it is here. Here it stays.
1. Reaching out

This is dedicated, with all my heart, to Sheno. Go on Youtube, search "ZackxCloud Ever, Ever After." First result. That video is the Sole. Reason. For this fic. Then tell her how awesome she is.

* * *

For a long time, the only sense Cloud was left with was sight. The other senses, rendered useless once the novelty of the mako-tank's strangeness had worn off, had gradually faded. But sight had stayed with him. The ever-changing rota of white-coats wandering in and out was enough to keep his eyes from giving up. And when it got boring, he only had to look sideways, to the tank on his right, and he remembered why his eyes hadn't closed yet.

Sound had returned soon after, but his brain tuned it out to white noise, only the soft hum of voices intruding into his mind, teasing at his curiosity. Words made sense, when he focused really hard, but the effort cost him energy towards regaining some motion in his mostly-atrophied limbs. Or, more importantly, forcing out words that had so far become jumbled together as "Unh," and other incoherent sounds, but were intended to be thanks to the man beside him. The one who was _always_ beside him.

Smell, that was next. It had been the smell of the bike that had done it. Nothing, in Cloud's mind, smelled stronger than a bike running full-throttle. Had his body responded to the urge, he would have been choking at how that acrid smell assaulted his senses, and he was sure his eyes had watered when the stench of burning rubber had been added to the mix, a tyre shredded against the tarmac as they made a sharp turn. Slowly, as his nose got used to the bike-smell, he noticed other scents. Like someone cooking a roast in a house they went roaring past, the slight tang of the oil they used to polish their swords, the strange not-smell of mako that clung to him.

For a long time, it was these three senses, gradually growing more acute and filling his world with a little more depth. It was a shock to the system, then, to feel the weight of a hand on his head, fingers briskly ruffling his spiky blonde hair in a way that he hadn't felt in so long. Zack hadn't ruffled his hair since...well, since before the tank.

With great effort, he forced his head to tilt against the pull of gravity, nudging against that touch. Into his line of vision slid a chin, a fall of black hair, a mouth framing words. That was better. He focused his attention on the sounds, and they became clearer.

"Cloud? Hey, buddy. Can you hear me?"

It was a long moment before he could coax his gaze up to meet shining blue eyes.

"Hi there." Zack's hand hadn't moved from his hair, and now it brushed back through his spikes in a gentle motion.

"Don't you worry. It's almost over now."

Something in the older man's tone sent a cold wash of fear down Cloud's back, bringing a jolt of energy to his limbs. Zack was rising now, his hand slipping from the blonde's hair, and Cloud found himself gripping hard onto his wrist. As his friend's questioning gaze met his, he struggled to form words, anything that didn't begin with "M," "N," or "U."

"Whu..." It was a start. It was a sound that promised more syllables, maybe even a sentence. Licking his lips, feeling a little more energy return, he tried again.

What do...you mean..."Almost over...?""

Violet-blue eyes slid from his, and Zack shifted uncomfortably in his viselike grip.

"I mean this is it. Last battle. After this, we'll be free."

But his face didn't say 'free.' It didn't tell him 'riding off into the sunset,' and it certainly didn't say 'happily ever after.' No, the look in Zack's eyes, the stubborn set of his jaw, told Cloud more sinister things. Things like 'the only way,' 'for your own good,' and, most painful of all, 'sacrifice.'

Slowly, carefully, the blonde peered around the stone monolith that sheltered them.

"Shit," he breathed. He had never seen so many people in one place before, hadn't _dreamed_ that ShinRa commanded this many men. There were over a thousand out there, easily, and they were all gunning for the two of them. A bullet ricocheted off the stone above him, and Zack yelped, pulling him back.

"Zack, that's gotta be more than a thousand men out there!" His lips were still slightly clumsy, but the words were a coherent, angry hiss, "even you can't survive that many!"

It came again, that look. The 'sacrifice' look.

"I can win," the taller man replied, his tone giving nothing away, but his eyes saying everything.

"No."

"What?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is the mako-trip still messing with my speech?" He knew his voice was sharp, biting, "I said "Hell. No.""

"I heard ya," Zack retorted, every bit as sharply, "I was waiting to see if you had any bright ideas, because in case you hadn't noticed, we're running out of options!"

Releasing the wrist he had been holding this whole time, Cloud rose smoothly to his feet.

"Oh, hell no."

"That's my line," he half-smirked, "and why the hell not?"

"Because it's pointless, us both going out there! If we both die, then they've won!"

"This isn't about beating ShinRa, Zack!" Hurt laced Cloud's tone, turned his mouth into a bitter twist, "it's about "together!" It's about "I'll never leave you, Cloud! We're friends, right?!""

Silence fell between them for a second, allowing them both to clearly hear the metallic ping. As such, both of their hands shot out in preparation, but it was Cloud's fingers that wrapped around the grenade that had been thrown, Cloud's vicious overarm throw that sent it careening back into the enemy's midst. Zack looked at him then, eyes alight with something like hope.

"You...You're really better, aren't you?"

Cloud rolled his eyes. "I have god-knows-how-much Mako coursing through my system. I have had a very, very long rest. I cold probably take _you _in a fight right now."

"Oooh," the black-haired man gave a wolfish grin, "I'll make you eat those words, shortass."

Sobering for a moment, Cloud smiled slightly. "Seriously. I'm good."

"Reckon you can take on five hundred or so out-of-shape slackers who think they're tough, then?"

"Bring it on. Together, we could beat that rabble. And an army, as well."

* * *

I make no promises about updating, as well you should know. But I do love you. All five of you. :q


	2. Allies

I've had this written for a day or two now, but I was holding it back until I at least had another chapter for it. Thanks so much for the kind reviews.

Again, this is for Sheno.

* * *

The rip of fabric, a grunt of pain, then another slash brought the wet tearing of flesh, a scream, a thud. One more down. How many to go? Don't think of that. Just bring up the sword. Swing. One, two. One more down. The air was bereft of the sound of choppers, those had been taken down by a tricky deflection of a grenade or a missile. How long ago? Hours, it felt like. All that remained was the panting, the sounds of a sword cutting through, and the thud of the bodies. His life had been brought down to this endless moment of hack, slash, repeat. One. Two. Th-

The SOLDIER took the third hit and crumpled. Cloud brought his sword up again, arms trembling. Three swings. He was getting tired. The mako had all but burned out of his system, and Zack...Ifrit, Zack must be suffering worse than him, he'd spent months lugging Cloud's dead weight around, fighting off monsters and SOLDIERs, forcing his younger friend to keep going, and now this.

One. Two. **BANG**

"Cloud!"

Zack shouted almost at the same time as the gun went off, and the blonde's sword flicked out to deflect the bullet, leaving his left side unguarded. A punch landed and he swerved away, winded and panting heavily. Stumbling and trying desperately not to fall. Then black filled his vision, and he heard metal hitting flesh, biting deep, and another agonised scream. He wasn't sure whether to smile or cry. Zack was there, again, protecting him, even though the man's body was beaten something awful. He bled from dozens of small scrapes, and his arms shook more than Cloud's as he swung his sword. He turned to give his friend a little half-smile, but another SOLDIER was waiting for him to drop his guard, bringing his gun butt down hard on the back of the man's head. It made a sickening crunch as it connected, and Zack crumpled instantly.

"You BASTARD!" Cloud was about one step from charging him, when the man turned the muzzle of the gun to point directly between the unconscious man's eyes. The threat was clear. 'Move and he dies.'

Taking a shallow breath, trying to get air past the sick knot building in his throat, the blonde finally took in his surroundings. Three men remained. Just three. The one who had his gun trained on Zack, one to Cloud's right, and one behind him. Both of these had their guns aimed at him. The one behind had even gone so far as to poke the muzzle into the hair at the back of his neck. Just so he understood that there was no way out.

**BANG. BANG.**

Cloud's eyes were open. He refused to close them. He wanted the last thing he saw to be the face of he man who had given so much to keep him safe. And so it was with utter bewilderment that he watched the body standing over Zack fall to the ground, blood blossoming over the green-blue uniform. He knew the man behind him had fallen in a similar way. Which left...HHe turned his head. Slowly, very slowly. The SOLDIER that remained emptied the bullets from his gun and threw them, then tossed the gun carelessly at Cloud's feet, reaching up to pull off his helmet next.

Cloud blinked a few times. Funny, even though he had been one for so long, he had almost expected SOLDIERs to have no faces under those helmets, no defining features above halfway up their noses. This man had plenty of character. Dark freckles dusted his upper cheeks, and messy auburn hair fell into his grey eyes. Cloud had to think about it for a while, but gradually, a name came to him.

"You're Kunsel."

"You've never seen me." The man gave him a hard look. "And I've never seen you. Or him."

Cloud nodded slowly, to show he'd understood. Kunsel turned to leave, then, half-turning back, called "have a good life. Both of you."

Then he was gone, striding away from the carnage.

"Yo-" Cloud cupped his hands around his mouth. "YOU WERE A GOOD FRIEND!"

A raised hand met his shout, and Cloud felt a small smile tug at his lips.

He heard a soft groan from behind him and whirled, running the few steps to his fallen friend.

"Shit, Zack. I'm so sorry."

Fingers fumbling on his pocket button, he finally tore it off and yanked out a potion, pulling the cap off with his teeth. His free hand tore at the rags of Zack's shirt, baring the wounds on his torso. Botlecap finally off, Cloud poured the glowing green liquid directly onto the other man's skin. There was no reaction. The potion was absorbed almost instantly, but it showed no signs of healing him, no soft glow around the wound edges.

"Shit." Cloud didn't think he'd ever sworn this much. Yanking a glove off with his teeth, he splayed his fingers over Zack's chest, feeling for a heartbeat. Nothing. He bit back a sob.

"Don't be dead. Don't you dare be dead, you asshole! I nee-" He froze. Something had interrupted him, a brief push against his fingers. His breath hitched. Nothing disturbed the silence. How many seconds had passed? Too many. Too long for that to have been anything mo-

There! The soft, unsteady thump against his hand that signalled a heartbeat.

It was then and only then that Cloud started to cry. Shaking, he gulped down sobs and blinked back tears, hand rummaging through supplies for anything other than a potion. Slightly more hesitantly, he slipped a hand into Zack's pocket. Grabbing a bottle, he yanked it out. An X-potion. He could have shouted in triumph, but instead, he yanked the top off, teeth biting so hard in his haste that he heard glass crack. His arm moved to slide under Zack's back, lifting the larger man slightly to angle him better, the other hand sloshing the precious liquid carelessly over his friend's marred skin. This time, it definitely worked. Collapsing, laughing and crying with relief, Cloud laid himself next to his friend and allowed his eyes to close.

"I told you we'd beat 'em," he murmured breathlessly.

* * *

Though the morrow may be barren of promises, nothing shall forestall...my return.

(In other words, I'll see ya around. XD)


	3. Family

As always, for Sheno. Because, much as I _can _leave it like that, I can't stand disappointing you. And you deserve spoiling, purely for being a ray of sunshine.

* * *

Cloud shivered. Where the hell was he? Had one of his barrack-mates stolen his sheets again? Dragging himself into wakefulness, he felt a stab of pain that seemed to pierce almost everywhere at once, and where it missed, a vicious, thumping ache pummeled instead. Memories flooded back to him, and instnatly his eyes slid to the side. Zack lay exactly where he had left him, spreadeagled in the dirt. His smaller scrapes had all but vanished, and now only the most wicked-looking slices and the bruises remained. Cloud deftly reached into his pocket and pulled out a potion. His friend was out of the woods, the rising of his chest shallow but steady, so he decided against throwing the stronger stuff at him. Pouring the potion over Zack's chest, he noticed the slight flinching of muscles. An automatic response to the sudden coldness. Cold...he bolted up, dropping the empty bottle and cursing himself. If he was shivering, the injured man must be freezing!

Then it came to him. The bike. Zack had always kept a blanket in the sidecar, for Cloud to sit on, and to wrap around him when the nights got cold and they were without shelter. Stamping his feet to get the circulation going again, he tilted his head to the sky. It was dark now. Unsurprising, it had been late evening when the onslaught had finally ceased. And judging by the moon, night had not long fallen. That was good. If Zack caught hypothermia because Cloud had been too busy sleeping to keep him warm, he'd never forgive himself.

_crunch_

Cloud froze. Motionless, he strained every cell in his body towards locating the source of that noise. In the shadows that had gathered around their bike, there was a shifting. A flash of white. And then, a small woman was stepping towards him. On seeing him, she stilled. It was almost comical. Both of them as still as a landworms hit with a Stop spell. Breaking his paralysis, Cloud retrieved his sword from the ground. Her light brown eyes flicked from him to Zack, then back to him.

"Cissnei, right?"

She nodded. He smiled slightly.

"Nice to meet you. And so good to finally be able to say that you and the rest of ShinRa can get royally fucked. I'm sick of your bullshit, and if anyone ever takes it upon themselves to do the smart thing and torch the lot of you, I'll bring apples to cook."

The girl flinched.

"Look, Cloud. I know you hate us, bu-"

"Shut up. You have no idea." He was deadly serious now, the urge to hurt this girl rising so fast that he had to glance back at Zack, alive, resting, to restore his calm.

"-But we need to take him. Both of you. You're not we-" Taking a step forwards, Cissnei reached out a hand. Cloud's sword swung down inches from her nose. Just a SOLDIER sword, but against an unarmed girl, it was enough.

"Come one step closer and I swear to Odin I will cut. You. Down."

She swallowed.

"You're not well!"

It was getting irritating, that habit of hers. Picking up where she'd left off. He wondered if she was simply finishing an argument she had started with Zack, but he couldn't remember.

"I can manage. _We _can manage. Without any damned mako, and without any _fucking _ShinRa."

A whimper of distress caught his attention then, and Cloud was turning, stumbling to Zack's side. His hand, still ungloved, pressed against the other man's forehead. Cold. So very cold. And he could feel the slightest tremors running through the skin beneath him.

He was barely aware of Cissnei any more, so he nearly jumped out of his skin when her legs appeared in his line of vision, the other side of Zack. She dropped something soft and heavy onto the man's chest. Cloud realised with some confusion that it was the blanket, as she straightened it out and arranged it to cover his bare skin. Resisting the urge to punch her or snatch him away from those small, slender hands, he instead asked "why are you helping?"

Cissnei sighed.

"I like Zack. I don't want him dying while we're busy arguing it out."

"Right...and how long before you're knocking me out and dragging us both back to headquarters for a shiny public execution or whatever?"

She actually had the gall to roll her eyes at him.

"Cloud, don't you get it? Who do you think that damned bike belongs to?"

He blinked a few times, a memory trying to surface. With another sigh, Cissnei rose smoothly to her feet.

"Look. While you decide whether or not to stop being an ass and actually hear me out, I'll light a fire. That blanket's not really enough, and you're shivering, yourself."

Alone with his unconscious charge, Cloud allowed his eyes to wander with no apparent purpose, while he chased that fragment of memory.

"Tseng."

Her voice. His eyes were on Zack's feet, but he recognised her voice.

"I've lost the target."

A slight shuffling, then a jingle.

"Here. If you think you can trust me, then take this."

Oh.

"You helped us escape?"

Cissnei looked up, and her eyes were dancing with amusement and firelight.

"Finally, he gets it."

"Why? And why are you trying to catch us again now?"

"Because Zack would have happily fought me to the death to keep you safe. And either outcome of that fight would have been bad for me. Now...I'm quite frankly ambivalent to killing you to get him back."

Cloud tensed.

"On the other hand, I can't stand that kicked-puppy look he does. And I'd never see the end of it if I did kill you. So I'm faced with another dilemma."

"Y-huh?"

This girl had successfully baffled him in a few sentences. And she still smiled teasingly while she discussed killing him. He could see why her and Zack had been friends.

"I can either lie to Tseng again and risk getting myself a one-way ticket to the labs, or I can disappear. Say, what's Gongaga like this time of year?"

"...so I asked her to look after my parents." A chuckle. Zack's laugh. Cloud's lips curved at the memory.

"She was like "Yeah, sure." I warned her that my parents have a habit of adopting people, and she told me they already have!" The laugh came again, hesitantly delighted. "I think I have a sister! Which is kinda a shame, cause she's hot, but..."

Rueful now, that chuckle. Zack never could keep his mind out of the gutter for long when it came to pretty girls.

Cloud gave a little half-smile.

"The weather's great there. Scenery's a bit dull, but you know what they say about towns with reacto-"

He paused. His gaze shifted to Zack's, and his fingers reached out to brush against the blanket pooled next to the other man's shoulder, smoothing it out. As if sensing something private, Cissnei's eyes turned back to the fire.

"Well, I may just have to go pay a visit to some relatives, then," she murmured, rising.

"What, now?"

"Might as well. We both know you won't sleep while I'm anywhere near, and you're about one sleepless night away from being back in the coma. Here."

She held something up for him to see. Her phone. Then, she tossed it into the fire.

"What the-"

"So I can't tell the others where you are. It'll help you rest a little easier. They're about..." she tilted her head, looking skywards, "fifty miles east of here. The cliff wall should hide the fire, as long as they don't decide to fly directly over the top, but don't keep it burning all night."

"How am I supposed to keep him warm, then?"

Her expression could only be described as dirty, and Cloud found himself distinctly warm around the cheeks.

"I'm sure you'll think of something, cutie."

With a careless wave, she disappeared into the night, the opposite way from where she had first come. Again, Cloud found a smile twitching the corner of his mouth up.

"You have some really good friends, Zack." Quieter, sadder, he continued "so get better, ok? For them."

* * *

It be done. Chapter four is written, but won't be posted until chapter five is finished.


	4. Awake

Gomengomen! *bows* I have no excuse, Lola's just a fickle bastard. XD Glass half-full, this glorified drabble has a PLOT! Everyone do the plot-hula! *hulahulahula*

* * *

"You're not Aerith."

The words, mumbled into his hair, brought Cloud into a state of semi-wakefulness.

"Really?" he replied drowsily, "What was your first clue?"

"Your boobs. Or lack thereof."

He let out a small chuckle as he made to unwind his arms from around the taller man. He had taken Cissnei's advice and put out the fire several hours before sunrise, and then with hardly any reluctance at all, had curled up next to Zack to share his own meagre body warmth. As he shifted, he hissed, the action bringing to memory the many unhealed scrapes and bruises he had recieved.

"You ok?" Zack's voice was laced with concern. Cloud let out a short laugh.

"I'm not the one who needed a potion-bath to stay alive. How are you?" With that, he finally woke his arms up enough to remove them from his friend's waist. Zack groaned.

"You're not getting up. _Tell _me you're not making us rise at this unholy hour after what we went through yesterday."

"Sorry buddy," the blonde laughed, "no lie-ins today."

He tried to sit up, to stretch and yawn, but found himself pinioned by a muscular arm curling over his hip.

"Zack," he reasoned patiently, "we can't stay. Turks are looking for us right now."

"I don't caaare!" the black-haired man gave a petulant wail, and Cloud shoved at his shoulder lightly.

"Yes you do. Now get off me and get up."

"Yes, sir!"

Slowly, with much hissing and groaning as various wounds made themselves known, Zack and Cloud pulled themselves into sitting positions and yawned, rubbing at sleepy eyes.

"When did you get so bossy?" the older man asked, eyeing his friend with something close to a pout. Stretching his arms high above his head, he arched his spine until the muscles in his bare chest tightened, setting the skin rippling in a most intriguing way.

"Around the same time you started acting like a six-year-old," Cloud managed to choke out, tearing his eyes away to twist his head until his neck popped.

Zack gave his friend a soft punch in the arm.

"One of us has to lighten the mood, or we'll both end up like Tseng. All work and no play, and all that."  
"I thought your version of playing involved raising the death rate by at least fifty percent."

"I can do other things for fun, y'know." The comment shouldn't have sounded so dirty, not when they were both not an awful long way from death's door, but still the blonde felt an uncomfortably warm flush across the bridge of his nose.

"Shut up," he managed to grate out, throwing the blanket at him, "and wrap up before you end up even worse off."

"Cloud, it's a freakin' desert out here."

"Exactly. Deserts have sand. Sand gets into wounds. Wounds get infected. I haul your dead weight to the nearest hospital and sell them one of my kidneys to get you treated. Put the damned blanket on."

Startled laughter bubbled forth from Zack's lips, and he followed the younger man's advice.

"Something really has changed about you, you know," he commented. He sounded oddly pleased.

"Nah, you're imagining it."

"Yeah, because you were always ordering superior officers around, back in ShinRa." Laden with sarcasm, Zack's voice carried a note of amusement as well. Shrugging, Cloud gave him a careless little smirk.

"Yeah, well. It's not like rank matters to us any more. And I can't exactly be embarrassed around you, you've already seen me naked."

To his surprise, the black-haired man's cheeks took on a pink tinge, and he glanced away, chuckling awkwardly.

"So...you remember that, huh?"

"All of it."

Silence fell between them, neither willing to meet the other's eyes, then the blonde let out a long-suffering sigh.

"Oh, for the love of Shiva. I think it's a little late to be having an awkward moment right now, don't you?"

"Ah, you're right." Zack waved his hands in a dismissive gesture. "That's done with. The real question is, what now?"

"You're asking me?" the ex-infantry man gave him a blank look, "me who was in a coma until yesterday? How the hell should I know?"

"I'm not even gonna start on your grammar in that sentence." Indigo eyes were dancing. Cloud wondered if their sudden freedom was the cause of his lightness. "But you're not in a coma any more. Thus, you get a say." More gently, he added, "no more orders, Cloud. We make our own decisions now. Together."

"Well, I vote we eat something first. Then, you let me look at those wounds. Then we can have a look at our options."

Zack nodded, then frowned.

"Only if you let me return the favour with the nursing. Shit, you look a state." His tone was more concerned than taunting, and the younger man felt a rush of warmth.

"I'm fine, Zack. Really. But we can argue the point over breakfast."

Breakfast was a simple affair, the two of them munching on the last crispy slices of dried-out dumbapple and sipping from the water canteen. Cloud filled his friend in on the finer points of what had happened after his head had met so unfavourably with that gun, taking delight in the way Zack's jaw dropped at the tale of meeting with Cissnei.

"You said that?"

The blonde nodded. "Hell yeah."

"Wow. Shit, Cloud. I've half a mind to take you to the Turks, just to watch Tseng's face when you say that to him."

"Ah, no." He waved the idea aside hurriedly. "I think the last of my backbone is gone, what with trying to keep you from lapsing into puppy-mode."

"Pup-What is it with everyone and the damned dog-references? Did I grow a tail when I joined SOLDIER or something?"

Cloud laughed at his friend's apparent despair, especially when the man contorted his torso into strange angles, trying to check to see if he had, indeed, grown a tail. Then the older man paused, hissing.

"Aw, crap."

"What is it?" Cloud immediately shifted closer, worried.

"Nothing. Just..." as he tried to straighten himself out without wincing, Zack admitted reluctantly, "probably a broken rib, actually. But hey, nothing I can't handle."

"Damnit, I'm sorry." The blonde's eyes dropped as he wrestled with a brief surge of guilt.

"What the hell are you apologising for?"

"I never even thought of internal injuries. You could have hemmorhaged or anything while I was busy mouthing o-"  
"Shut the fuck up."

His mouth shut with an audible click. Zack's fingers curled under his chin, forcing his head up to meet stern indigo eyes.

"Listen to me, Cloud. You did damned good. You stopped me bleeding out, kept me warm...and look at me. Nothing wrong with me that a potion won't fix. So don't you dare start guilting yourself."

The blonde swallowed, blanching under that look, and managed an awkward nod. Sighing, his friend pulled him into a hug and ruffled his hair, almost hard enough to hurt. "You did good," he murmured again.

They both leaned back against the rock face then, shoulder to shoulder.

"So...what now?" Zack was first to speak, though his words were slightly clumsy, voice deeper with fatigue.

"Now I'm gonna have a look at the mess that those cannon-fodder made of you yesterday," the younger man replied.

"Can I sleep while you do that?"

He laughed. "Yeah, sure. Let me at least look at your back before you lay down, though."

"Deal." So saying, the ex-SOLDIER discarded the blanket, swivelling around to present Cloud with his back, the flesh marred by damage both old and new. A disturbing amount of blood stuck to what was left of his shirt, sticking it to the raw flesh. Taking up the water bottle, the blonde dipped the corner of the blanket into it and started to wipe away the worst of the red mess, revealing skin that didn't look much better without it. Carefully, he removed the tatters of fabric from the edges of the larger wounds, his ministrations drawing soft hisses from the other man, as the muscles beneath his fingers flinched automatically away from his touch.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Stop apologising."

"Yes, sir."

"And stop being sarcastic."

"Shut up."

"Better."

A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. He had missed this. With deft movements, he cleaned away the last of the blood, then tossed the blanket over a low rock to dry out. Uncapping a potion, he poured some into his left hand, placing it on the ground next to his knee. He dipped his fingers into the green liquid and grimaced in sympathy.

"Brace yourself. I don't have to tell you this is gonna sting." He brushed a cautious fingertip over the top edge of one of the deeper wounds, and Zack's flinching was more pronounced, his entire upper body skewing away from the contact and a particularly vulgar epithet emerging from between gritted teeth.

"I told you," Cloud said, his voice carefully neutral.

"I think I liked it better when you were apologising, jerk."

"Aww, poor baby. Want me to kiss the big nasty sores better instead?"

Silence. He caught the flash of indigo eyes, as the other man glanced over his shoulder briefly.

"Since you're offering..."

"Shut up." Heat rose in waves up his cheeks, and he was sincerely grateful that Zack couldn't see his expression. Shaking his head slightly to rid himself of the sudden rattling of his thoughts, he again brushed his potion-covered fingers over the wound. Zack's squirming was less pronounced, he managed to hold himself still enough for Cloud to continue his ministrations, though not without many little pained noises.

Halfway down the potion bottle, and the older man's breathing was heavy, the effort of not screaming taking its toll on him. The blonde made a silent resolution to finish faster and touch lighter, but both were difficult to manage. He was barely touching as it was, and using such delicate motions required a lot more control than just slapping it on irreverently. His fingertips gently massaged potion into a large bruise over Zack's lower back, and his thumb brushed over a slightly raised line of skin. A scar he'd never noticed before. Curious, he stroked over it again, feeling skin tremble beneath his thumb.

"Where did you get this one?"

"Sephiroth." The other man's tone was noticeably dull, even as it was strained.

"So-"  
"What did I say about apologising?"

"Ok, ok. So you got it fighting General Psychopath?"

Zack let out a little laugh at that.

"Yep, he caught me as I turned. And you can take your hand off it any time now."

"Sorry." He snatched his hand back as if burned.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I don't mind. But that bruise is really quite sore."

Cloud froze at that, thoughts coming to a screeching halt somewhat like Midgar's train when someone pulled the emergency brake chain.

_Don't mind? _He thought. _Don't mind me being curious, or don't mind me touching...?_

* * *

Mweeheehee. I will try my hardest to not leave it that long again, but I have other fics that demand attention, and the small, tiny matter of College.


End file.
